The fate of six Bahraini medics who received prison sentences last month could be decided on Monday, July 30, when the country’s highest appeals court will hear their case.

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) calls on the Court of Cassation to acquit the medics of all charges of illegally participating in and supporting unlicensed gatherings and attempting to overthrow the regime.

The six medics are part of a group of 20 medical professionals arrested and tried on felony charges stemming from the Bahraini government's crackdown on a wave of citizen protests that began in February 2011. Nine were acquitted and several others released after serving short sentences. The six due in court Monday received sentences ranging from six months to five years.

“The charges against these medical professionals are representative of a broad and systematic attack on Bahrain’s health system by the government of Bahrain," said Richard Sollom, deputy director of PHR. "Dropping all charges against the medics—whose ethical duty was to treat all injured people—is imperative if there is to be true justice and political reform in Bahrain."

Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) is a New York-based advocacy organization that uses science and medicine to stop mass atrocities and severe human rights violations. Learn more here.